Did the Cubs just join the discussion for the NL Central Title?

We all know it takes more than one player in baseball to put a team into contention. The draft is far from a sure thing, and once many players get their pay day, they are never the same. I think the Cards, Reds and Brewers are going to fight it out for the top spot, and on paper, I like the Cardinals chances, as I’ve noted previously. All 4 teams now have some players that are hungry for their next contract. I think the Cardinals are dependent on health a lot more than most teams in a way, but we seem to have some depth ready to step up now if something goes wrong with David Freese. With that being said, you have to wonder if the Cubs are in the discussion now, as they have added Matt Garza.

I overlooked the signings of Carlos Pena and Kerry Wood, but adding Garza along with those players put the Cubs in the discussion now.

If you break down the Cubs against the Cards, Reds and Brewers, you can see it being a 4 way race. I still think the Cards look good on paper, but I think it’s now possible the Cards could finish from 1st to 4th in the division. I did a piece a couple of weeks ago looking at the lineups and rotations of the Cards, Brewers and Reds, and now I’m going to bring that table back into play with the Cubs in it. I’ll do the starting rotations today, and plug in their projected lineup in the next few days.

Pitcher

Career W-L

Career ERA

Career FIP

WAR/200

Career WHIP

Career SO/9

Wainwright
STL-RHP

66-35

2.97

3.36

4.16

1.20

7.5

Carpenter
STL-RHP

133-83

3.80

3.89

2.91

1.28

6.8

Westbrook
STL-RHP

73-75

4.29

4.17

2.01

1.37

5.0

Garcia
STL-LHP

14-9

2.96

3.74

2.89

1.32

7.0

Lohse
STL-RHP

88-98

4.79

4.53

0.85

1.43

5.6

Greinke
MIL-RHP

60-67

3.82

3.59

4.11

1.26

7.6

Gallardo
MIL-RHP

36-24

3.67

3.51

3.08

1.32

9.4

Marcum
MIL-RHP

37-25

3.85

4.46

3.34

1.23

7.3

Wolf
MIL-LHP

114-97

4.13

4.34

1.84

1.32

7.3

Narveson
MIL-LHP

14-9

4.74

4.21

0.26

1.35

7.8

Cueto
CIN-RHP

32-32

4.27

4.51

1.50

1.34

7.3

Volquez
CIN-RHP

28-22

4.36

4.30

2.16

1.47

8.7

Arroyo
CIN-RHP

103-93

4.19

4.46

2.39

1.31

6.0

Bailey
CIN-RHP

16-16

5.09

4.48

-0.7

1.52

6.9

Wood
CIN-LHP

5-4

3.51

3.42

2.33

1.08

7.5

Leake
CIN-RHP

8-4

4.23

4.68

-0.6

1.49

5.9

Zambrano

116-74

3.50

3.93

3.70

1.30

7.7

Dempster

102-102

4.37

4.31

1.43

1.45

7.7

Garza

42-44

3.97

4.26

2.70

1.31

7.1

Wells

20-24

3.65

3.92

3.45

1.33

6.1

Silva

70-70

4.68

4.49

1.11

1.39

4.0

As you can see, the Cubs now have a starting staff that isn’t that bad. The problem with Garza is the same problem with Shaun Marcum. How much better will they be leaving the AL East to join the NL Central? The Brewers still worry me more than any other squad, but anything can happen. I think when you add the potential of the Cubs offense into the equation, which I’ll do shortly; they have to be in the discussion in the NL Central race.